KINGSTON, RI – Set your goals and stick to them, you never know where it might lead you.
Eldred alumni and prolific basketball player, Tammi Reiss, took over as the University of Rhode …
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KINGSTON, RI – Set your goals and stick to them, you never know where it might lead you.
Eldred alumni and prolific basketball player, Tammi Reiss, took over as the University of Rhode Island (URI) women’s basketball coach in 2019. This new endeavor follows her many accolades that include breaking the NYSPHSAA scoring record, reaching the NCAA Final Four in three consecutive seasons at the University of Virginia, becoming a model and Hollywood actress, and playing in the WNBA for the Utah Starzz.
Reiss also won a Class D cross country championship in 1983, and has accomplished nearly all the goals she set for herself in middle school.
Since 2019, Reiss has already been named the Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year twice, including this season as the Rams finished tied for first in the regular season.
Reiss still holds a New York State Public High School Athletic Association record, Most Points in a State Tournament Game, with 51 in 1988. She previously held the Career Points Scored record with 2871, but has since dropped to 7th place all-time.
When Reiss was in the sixth grade, her coach, Paul Tylawsky, instructed her to create a goal list. It was something she took very seriously at the time, coming up with over 100 goals that she wanted to achieve.
“I had great parents, teachers and mentors,” Reiss explained. “Foundation is everything when it comes to learning how to achieve your goals and make the most of your opportunities.”
These foundations and the ability to create success has been instrumental to the coaching style that Reiss deploys at the University of Rhode Island, and has helped build the success of the program up.
When Reiss took over at URI, the team had not seen much recent success, finishing near the bottom of the conference for a few years. Her tactic of international recruiting led to success, as well as her plan of changing the culture and beginning the process of becoming great.
“We won our first A10 regular season in 46 years, and we finished with the most wins in a season in school history,” Reiss said.
The team finished 24-6 this season, but were bounced in the Atlantic 10 Semifinal game.
Whether they’re invited to the NCAA tournament or play in the WNIT tournament, the team under Reiss’s tutelage still has postseason games to play this year.
When asked what her next goal is for the team, Reiss said “We want to win another Atlantic 10 regular season, and win the tournament too.”
Her plan to build the program for sustained success comes from her coaching strategy.
“I treat the program like a corporation. I am the CEO and I’m trying to build a strong culture with players that are great on the court but better people off the court,” Reiss said.
Reiss hopes to build a culture of sustained success at URI, and with her track record, that seems like a sure thing.
“Rhode Island has been a very good place to me,” Reiss said. “It is a perfect fit, a great place to build and try to get the team to a nationally recognized level.”
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